The present invention is drawn to an improved electrocatalyst and an improved electrocatalytic process and, more particularly, a composite electrocatalyst for use in the partial oxidation of methane by an electrocatalytic process.
Methane, the principal component of natural gas, is available in large quantities in wellhead gas and other by-products of petroleum recovery and coal mining processes. One of the major businesses of many refineries and chemical plants is to upgrade low value hydrocarbons such as methane into more valuable products. Typical methane conversion processes known in the prior art are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,205,194, 4,499,322 and 4,523,049. These processes rely on contacting the methane with a catalyst reagent in the presence of oxygen to produce a higher hydrocarbon product. These processes suffer from a number of drawbacks including low conversion rates, great catalyst instability, excessive formation of undesirable carbon oxides and the like.
Naturally, it would be highly desirable to develop a stable catalyst useful in the oxidation of methane and a method for the oxidation of methane which exhibits excellent conversion rates without excessive formation of deleterious carbon oxides.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved electrocatalytic process for the partial oxidation of a methane containing gas.
It is a particular object of the present invention to provide an improved electrocatalyst for use in the electrocatalytic process as set forth above.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved electrocatalyst comprising a composite electrocatalyst comprising a electrode having a finely dispersed conducting catalyst disposed thereon.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.